A Sucessora
Book cover of the 3rd edition (1940s)
AuthorCarolina Nabuco
Publication date
1934
Media typePrint

A Sucessora is a novel written by the Brazilian writer Carolina Nabuco.[1] It was first published in 1934 and was later adapted into the 1978 telenovela A Sucessora.[2]

Synopsis

The story revolves around the character of Mariana, a young woman who has married the widower Roberto Steen. As Mariana attempts to acclimatise to her new marriage and responsibilities, she discovers that Steen's dead wife, Alice, still seems to have a hold over the household.

Controversy

Nabuco's A Sucessora (The Successor), published in 1934, has a main plot similar to Rebecca, for example a young woman marrying a widower and the strange presence of the first wife—plot features also shared with the far older Jane Eyre.

A Sucessora received international attention after the publication of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca, which presented striking similarities to Nabuco's novel.[3][4] Critic Álvaro Lins remarked in 1941 that there was little difference between the two novels.[5] In the wake of the film, The New York Times Book Review published an article highlighting the novels' many similarities[6] prompting du Maurier to rebuff claims of plagiarism in a Letter to the Editor, where she wrote that she had not heard of Nabuco or A Sucessora until the previous year.[7][8] Du Maurier's publishers also denied any intentional similarities between the two works,[9] although Nabuco herself believed that her work had been plagiarized[10] and there were claims that du Maurier's publisher intentionally gave her a copy of Nabuco's manuscript.[11] Nabuco also claimed that producers of the theatrical version of Rebecca came to her with a contract that would state that the similarities between the two books were coincidental and that she would be "compensated with a quantity described as 'of considerable value'" if she signed.[12]

References

  1. ^ Brandão, Ruth Silviano. Mulher ao pé da letra: a personagem feminina na literatura : ensaio Editoria UFMG. pp. 107–110
  2. ^ Os 25 anos da novela A Sucessora, de Manoel Carlos Parana Online
  3. ^ Genero e representacao na literatura brasileira. Faculdade de Letras, Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Letras, Estudos Literarios. 2002, p. 136
  4. ^ Cook, Judith. Daphne: A Portrait of Daphne Du Maurier. Ulverscroft Large Print Book. 1992, pp. 195, 199
  5. ^ Lins, Álvaro. Jornal de critica. Olympio, 1941. pp. 234–236
  6. ^ "An Extraordinary Parallel Between Miss du Maurier's "Rebecca" and a Brazilian Novel; Literary Coincidence". The New York Times, November 16, 1941.
  7. ^ "' Rebecca' Publisher Denies Any 'Parallel'". The New York Times, November 21, 1941.
  8. ^ Du Maurier, Daphne. Letter to the Editor 1. New York Times. February 01, 1942, Section Book Review, p BR2.
  9. ^ New York Times. Rebecca' Publisher Denies Any 'Parallel. Nov 21, 1941
  10. ^ Nabuco, Carolina. Oito décadas: memórias. Nova fronteira, 2000. p. 141
  11. ^ Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras--Estudos Literários. Gênero e representação na literatura brasileira. UFMG, Faculdade de Letras, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras, Estudos Literários, 2002. p. 136
  12. ^ Tiger in a Lifeboat, Panther in a Lifeboat: A Furor Over a Novel New York Times
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